Improvement in skates



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All. PMBTQ-LITHO. C0. KY (OSBDRN E'S PROCESS) UNITED STATESl PATENTOFFICE.

IMPROVEMENT IN SKATES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 56,369, dated July 17,1866.

To all 'whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, E. G. GHORMANN, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain Improvements in Skates; and I do hereby declare thefollowing' to be afull, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters ofreference marked thereon.

My invention consists of a skate constructed in the peculiar mannerfully described herein after, so that it can be extended or contractedat pleasure, and readily adjusted to boots or shoes of diiferent sizes,my said invention being as applica-ble to parlor-skates as to those usedon the ice. p

In order to enable others to make and use my invention, I will nowproceed to describe its construction and operation.

On reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of thisspecification, Figures l and 2 are sectional views of my improved skate5 Fig. 3, a plan View of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 a view illustrating theadaptability of myinvention to parlor-skates.

A is a metal plate, the rear end of which is formed into a narrowflexible tongue, a, and to the front end is secured a cap, b, which isso constructed as to form a spring-socket for the reception of the toeof a boot or shoe.

The end of the tongue a is bent to the spiral form shown in thedrawings, and is secured to a hollow block, c, which is arranged toslide in a recess in a plate, A. In this plate A turns a screw-spindle,B, which extends into the interior ofthe sliding block c, the positionof the latter being controlled by the screwthreads of the said spindle.At the rear end of the plate is a curved ilange, a', adapted to the heelof a boot or shoe, and from the inside of this iange projects a pin, e.

To the plates A and A are secured blades or runners C and G', of theform substantially as shown in the drawings.

The toe of the boot or shoe to which the skate is to be secured isintroduced into the socket b and the heel is brought against the plateA. The thumb-screw B is then turned so as to carry back the slidingblock c until the heel of the boot is brought close against the fia-ngea,'the pin e penetrating the heel and preventing the latter from risingfrom con tact with the plate A.

In skates of the ordinary construction the foot is conned to a rigidplate, beneath and throughout the entirelength of which extends a singlerunner.

The ordinary rigid skates tend to restrict the free movement of the footand to impede the free circulation of blood, the foot frequentlybecoming paralyzed to such an extent as to greatly interfere with themovements of the skater and to demand the removal of the skate.

In the ordinary skates, also, the length of the runner cannot bealtered, so that a skate suitable for one person cannot be used byanother having a foot of a different size.

Practical experiments have shown there is no necessity for making therunner in one continuous piece, inasmuch as during all the evolutions ofthe skater the runner bears on the ice either near its front or its rearend. By forming the runner in two sections, therefore, one beneath theheel and the other below the ball of the foot, and connecting the two bya ilexible plate, as above described, the bearingpoints necessary toexecute any desired evolutions are obtained, while the free movement ofthe foot is not interfered with.

By making the runner in two sections the latter may be so adjusted inrespect to each other that one skate may be used equallywell by personshaving' feet of different sizes, the bearing-points of the runner in allcases being directly beneath the ball and heel of the foot.

The mode of constructing the skate also admits of the latter beingsecured to the foot by the simple device above described, the usualcomplicated and troublesome straps and other securing appliances beingthus dispensed with.

The upper portion and opposite sides ofthe socket b are made elastic, soas to readily yield and adapt themselves to differently-formed toes ofboots and shoes. The opposite curved sides of the heel lange or socket aare also made elastic for the same purpose.

The adaptability of my improvement to par lor-skates will be readilyunderstood by reference to Fig. et without explanation.

It will also be seen that the socket b and adjustable socket a may beused with skates other, the whole being constructed and arof theordinary construction. ranged substantially as described.

I do not desire to claim, broadly, a skate 2. The combination,substantially as illushaving` two runners connected by a liexible tratedin Fig. 4:, of the adjustable plates A A tongue; but with the rollers,for the purpose described.

I claim as my invention and desire t0 se- In testimony whereof I havesigned my name cure by Letters Patentto this specification in thepresence of two sub- K l. The combination of the plate A and itsseribing Witnesses. runner C, the plate A and its runner C', and E. G.GHORMANN. the screw B, and sliding` bloolc c, or equiva- Vitnesses: lentdevice, whereby the runners may be ad- CHARLES E. FOSTER, justed at anyrequired distance from each JOHN WHITE.

